Break Away
by cassie-n-rose
Summary: Sam/OC Puck/OC Two members of the glee club discover music isn't the only artistic talent that students can have at McKinley High. A story of outcasts and what its like to suddenly be noticed.
1. Prologue

As much as we do would like to be able to tell you different, we are obligated to inform you that we do not own glee. We do however, own the plot and the two character that are introduced in this prologue. So if you do happen to see two new female characters named Meredith and Sophie on Glee, know that 1) That we were approached by the creators and were offered an insane amount of money or 2) There is some serious intellectual property theft going on. Thank you.

Note: This isn't a chapter so much as it is two prologues, each introducing our O.C.'s Meredith and Sophie.

Meredith

The rain falling down in swift drops upon the windshield of her old black Ford Taurus reminded Meredith of London. She had never been there herself, but her older sister had spent a semester in England when she had been in college. She remembered the stories she had heard her tell of the grey skies and cold drizzle that frequently fell, just heavy enough tease frizzy hair and make an umbrella essential. It sounded very different from Ohio, where the water fell with such force that it made driving more dangerous and the bare ground squish under the pressure of rain boots. Then again, there were a lot of things that made Ohio and the town of Lima hash. It wasn't just the whether.

In actuality, it probably any different than any other small town in America. The close-mindedness and open worship of high school football were pretty much a constant from all Meredith could tell in the limited scope of experience she had. She hadn't traveled much (even for a 17-year-old), but the few places she had visited for school or out of some other necessity all seemed the same to her. When a tall, thin, blonde girl like Quinn Fabray walked into a room people noticed. Girls got that envious, scrutinizing look in their eyes like they were assessing if her presence was a threat to them. Boys stopped mid-sentence… mid thought to stare at her, all doing their best to tell if she was single and how easy it would be to get in her pants.

All of that fuss was a far cry from when someone like Meredith walked into a room, who wasn't blonde, particularly tall, or easily recognizable in a crowd. Girls didn't see her as a threat unless it was one of those occasions when she remained the teacher of a homework assignment they hadn't done. Boys certainly didn't stop what they were doing to gawk at her. The closest they got to looking at her was looking over her shoulder for answers to a test. Somehow, Meredith didn't mind any of this all that much. She couldn't bring herself to care that a bunch of people who were probably never going to pass the county line in their entire life didn't notice her, or when they did it was just because they were jealous and or wanted to start a new rumor about how she stuffed her bra. Her aspirations involved things that were much bigger than Lima….

This is what Meredith remained herself of as she pulled into her parking spot at William McKinley High School. Only a few more months of this school, these people, and this ridicules judgmental town and she would be fee to go… free to do the things she had dreamed of for years now, but hadn't exactly said out loud to anyone. Things would be better just in a new setting with new people. Hopefully, new people with more open minds. At any rate, they wouldn't have all of the rumors or ongoing jokes at her expense to use against her. These things alone would be a welcome change in and of themselves.

But Meredith planned on taking it a step farther. She wanted to make something for herself, a world where she wasn't an outcast, existed just for her, and was only visible to her eyes. She wanted to write. Not just for fun like she had been doing her whole life, but she wanted to do it professionally. That was how she would she would single handedly shut up all of the voices that had always whispered when she walked passed, all of the criticism she had heard for her whole life, she would do it with her pen. If she could do that, she could show them all they had been wrong about her. The one moment when they realized what she had been doing all these years wasn't such a waste of time after all would be her revenge and for Meredith, that day couldn't come soon enough.

Sophie

Maybe it sounds really cliché to say that Sophie was so invisible that people had sat on her before. But she was. And they had. The difference was that she didn't really mind it. At a place like McKinley High, you were doing well if you got through the day without getting a slushy to the face or a brand new rumor to wear around your neck. If it wasn't one of those things, it was being teased for being smart, loud, fat, ugly, take your pick. In the end, it was a miracle if you could fly under the radar for as long as Sophie had.

It was a very carefully perfected talent, becoming so painfully normal that she might as well have been the paint on the wall. First of all, she had to be careful not to talk to anyone, no matter how badly she wanted a friend. It was too much like getting into politics. Choose the wrong friend and that's it, you've entered the official bullying storm. Choose someone high up, and you get sucked into being one of them. Sophie wanted neither, so she avoided both. Second, no activities. Picking a clique or club was almost as bad as picking a friend, and it would scrape her into a unit which stood apart. Therefore, she would stand apart. There was also walking to school to avoid transportation prejudice, eating lunch alone, never making eye contact and making thoroughly un-fascinating B+'s and A-'s.

The last, and hardest, part was making sure that she was carefully indifferent to her entire situation, to her entire life. She could never look overly happy, or people would want to know why, and the same went for looking sad. Neutrality was key, so she sported it.

She didn't realize until halfway through high school that she might have made a mistake in choosing to be see-through, gray at best, but it saved her the ridicule that so many endured so she tried not to mind.

But when she got home in the afternoons, where she could be happy and remember what it was like to feel, she would face her secrets, and know she deserved more.

The secrets started taking over one day, and she found herself sneaking away, back to the school gym at night, where she had room to feel, to be. Later, they would take control in the middle of the school day, and her feet followed the trail of music notes to the Glee rehearsal room. She would stand and look through the open door, transfixed by melodies and harmonies she wished she could join.

And it was in the midst of her staring that someone finally saw her, and once she'd been seen, hiding was no longer an option.

Sam Evans was the exact opposite of Sophie Brice. He was bright, blonde and unmistakable, with an identity as stedfast as Sophie's apparent lack thereof. Where she was always listening quietly and letting things happen, he was briefly observing before jumping into action. No hesitation, no concern for possible consequences. Sophie had witnessed his first slushy and even then, he hadn't backed out of Glee. Glee...if any of them had it, it was him.

That's what she was thinking the first time he turned his head and caught her there in the doorway, watching all of them. And though she'd been more careful after that, he always noticed she was there, and that's when she hurried away, the spell broken. Still, even though she knew he was onto her, she kept coming back.

It was only a matter of time before he confronted her. But honestly, in her head, she knew she was sort of waiting for it. She'd become too frightened to break out of her self-created shell on her own, and maybe he wouldn't be too shy to give her a little push. That was all she needed him for, that was the only reason she was drawn to him...right?


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

"Not so fast, Mr. Puckerman, I need to talk to you for a minute."

Puck had almost made it safely out of the door before his English teacher, Mrs. Snow, had caught him. Now he was stuck, getting sucked back into the classroom to hear her get on his case about something. He was already trying to think back to the pranks he had pulled in her class in the past week. There had been the usual tripping some nerd on his way up to do a presentation and the one time that he had drew a mustache on the face of a chick in one of the play posters next to his desk. That thing had been asking for it.

All and all, it had been a pretty cool week for Mrs. Snow. Puck honestly had no idea what her problem could be with him right now. It wasn't like he had destroyed anything recently. Never the less, he braced himself. Even though Mrs. Snow was old... like ancient old... she was still a girl and he knew they could get pretty scary when they got mad. He put on his best 'I didn't do it, but I so totally did' face before turning around and taking a step or two back in the classroom.

"Yes, Mrs. S?" He said, his voice sounding innocent like he had no idea what she wanted... Which he found was a lot easier to pull off when he actually didn't.

"I was looking through my grade book last night and I see that I don't have anything written down for your Shakespeare paper."

"That's because it was so good, there wasn't a grade high enough for you to give it." Puck tried to sound completely serious. After all, she was old... forgetful...right? He told himself he actually stood a chance at her buying it...

"Don't play cute with me. I know you haven't turned in a paper." He could tell then that he was busted.

"Oh that paper. Don't worry, Mrs. S, I'm on it." Puck thought this new lie would be a little more believable.

"That paper was due two weeks ago." Mrs. Snow said, her tone rising to show she was getting more angry and he was getting more and more deep into trouble. "I expect that paper and soon or you can forget passing English this year."

"But Mrs.S! That's not fair! If I don't pass, I can't play football next year!"

"You sliding by teacher after teacher because they would rather pass you than deal with you again is what's not fair, Mr. Puckerman, to the students at this school who are making a conscious effort to pass their classes. I expect 3000 words analyzing the Shakespearean tragedy of your choice soon or else I will fail you."

"Can't I read something else? This old stuff is like in a different language." Puck protested. He wasn't sure what it was, but he knew there had to be a good reason why no one talked that way anymore. All of the weird words like 'thee' and 'thou' made everything that much harder to understand. Couldn't people back whenever it was just have said what they meant without taking a year to say it?

"Shakespeare is a universal language that united people of every walk of life in its time, Mr. Puckerman. Anything with that much power through the ages is surly worth a little of our time today." Mrs. Snow said, as if she were actually going to convince him that this was something he was going to need outside of high school. "If your interested in getting help with this assignment, there is a senior in my Advanced Placement class that may could find the time to tutor you. Meredith Hart. Her paper was one of the best I've read in years, but I'm warning you, I would know if you tried to plagiarize."

Puck had zoned out of the conversation at the part where she had mentioned a tutor. The last thing he needed was some nerd on his case everyday, talking about how fun reading plays written by people that had been dead for hundreds of years was. His reputation was already taking enough crap from being in the glee club. He'd be sure to get a slushy in the face everyday until he graduated if he did anything like that. Never the less, he didn't think telling Mrs. Snow that had a reputation to protect was going to get him any closer to her good side either whichever that one was. So, he decided to just flash her another of his full-proof smiles and agree with her. Telling a chick what she wanted to hear was always the safe way to go.

"Sure thing, Mrs. S. I'll get right on it." He said as he re-positioned his book bag on his shoulder and turned away from the teacher. She seemed satisfied… for now. Anyway, she didn't stop him from leaving the classroom again.

Once he was safely out of the teacher's sight, Puck headed to the cafeteria. Thanks to her and her stupid paper, he was going to have even less time for lunch than usual. Luckily, he still had some status as a football player even with the glee club threatening his spot on the McKinley food chain. He passed the nerds, geeks, and underclassmen easily. Before he knew it, he was in front of the line and a large spoonful of tots were bring dumped on his tray. It was good to be feared in times like these.

He got the rest of his lunch and took his rightful seat at the table with the rest of the football players. All of them started to looked at him as he sat down, like he had gum in his Mohawk. He knew they were all wondering why he was late.

"Whatzup, Puckerman?" One of them said. "You missed one of the geeks over there falling over their own shoelace. We didn't even have to trip him. It was hilarious."

"I had some stuff I had to take care of." He answered. "A dude's work is never done around here." He had hoped they would leave it at that and assume he had been making out with Santana or some other hot chick, but it was turning out not to be his day.

"Yea, right." came Karofsky's voice, sounding like he wanted to start something. "The only chick you get anywhere with is Santana and she's been over there the whole time."

"How do you know I wasn't spreading the love around, Karofsky? I haven't seen you sucking face with anyone new this year either." He tried to make the words to come out smooth like usual, but somehow, he knew they weren't buying it this time.

"I don't claim to be some sex god either." He retorted. "Face it, Puckerman, easy chicks like Santana and those moms that are like desperate you get over the summer are the best you can do."

"Yea." There was a sound of unison coming from the table. What was this? Why did people suddenly think they could gang up on him like was he wasn't one of them? Maybe singing had hurt his bad boy, sexy image more than he had realized.

"That's so not true." He argued. It was time for some serious damage control for his reputation. "The Puck-mister can have his pick of any chick at this school."

"Bet you can't!" Karofsky challenged.

"You're on." He grinned to himself. Karofsky had taken the bate just like he had wanted him to. Getting back his image was going to be easy. All he had to do was win the bet. "Name the chick. I'll have her saying my name by Friday."

"Over there. At the nerd table. The chick with the green scarf." Puck turned to see the girl Karofsky was talking about. Dark hair. Brown eyes. Not a bad body from all he could tell, though she was showing way too little skin for his taste. She would be easy prey for Puckzilla. "I hear she's one of the smartest girls in the school. Senior. Total know it all."

"Older, smarter chick. I can dig that." Puck said. To him, it was no big deal. She wouldn't be able to resist. He'd have her away from the books and with him soon enough.

"Good luck." Karofsky mocked as he got up from the table to dump his tray. "Hope your singing turns her own, Puckerman."

He ignored him and turned his attention back to the girl. He was trying to get a good look at her face, but she was bent over a book and wouldn't move it. He squinted his eyes momentarily to try to make out what she was reading. Just barely, he could see the title: Antony and Cleopatra and the name of the author: William Shakespeare. The grin widened on his face. It was his lucky day after all. If he played his cards right, by the end of the week he could not only have a new girlfriend and a way to such up Karofsky but also way to write Mrs. Snow's paper and stay on top of the high school food chain.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

Cleopatra: If it be love indeed, tell me how much.

Antony: There's beggary in the love that can be reckon'd.

Cleopatra: I'll set a bourn how far to be beloved.

Antony: Then must thou needs find out new heaven, new earth.

Meredith read the four or five line passage over and over again. It was near the beginning, before any real action began, but it was still one of her favorite exchanges in the entire play. For all of their squabbling and all of the mistakes they made, Antony and Cleopatra did manage to get a few things right. This was a perfect example, one of the things that made their actions a little more believable. They loved each other with such passion, it was beyond the comprehension of everyone around them… beyond any words they could say to each other.

Some days when Meredith read it, it was one of the most beautiful things in the world… love so powerful it was beyond words. She quietly wondered what it would feel like, to have something that special and meaningful to call her own. It sounded like so much feeling that it would be painful tying to contain it. Not only that, but it would be excruciating to be away from the other person or for them not to feel it back. Surely this kind of thing existed somewhere, outside of the writing of Shakespeare. The inspiration had to some from somewhere, didn't it?

Then on other days, like this particular Monday, Meredith couldn't help but feel skeptical. Was it even possible for a human to feel like that? Even Antony and Cleopatra, if they had felt it, had a strange way of showing it sometimes. Hadn't Antony went back to Rome, left Cleopatra and married someone else? Hadn't she ordered her ships to retreat, caused Antony to loose the war he was fighting for her, and then sent word to him that she was dead just so he wouldn't be mad at her anymore? But then, hadn't they both died because a life without the other wasn't worth living? Maybe that was what Shakespeare was trying to say. Love wasn't supposed to be simply the high school 'I love you more' contest, but something deeper… something that could withstand arguments and countless mistakes and still exist.

Whatever the answer to the question was, Meredith was out of time to contemplate it. It was only a few more minutes for the bell would ring, the warning that they only had five minutes to get to their next class before they would be counted late. She decided while she was at a stopping point, she might as well re-locate to Mrs. Snow's classroom. If there was one thing she couldn't stand, it was being late to class (especially when the room was so close.) Meredith slid the play back into her book bag and grabbed her tray. She then stood up and started to make her way back to the front of the cafeteria to dump the remains of another school lunch that no one could ever quite identify. She kept her head tilted slightly down, not making eye contact with anyone as she passed by, and trying not to notice them or to be noticed.

* * *

><p>Puck had been watching the chick on the other side of the cafeteria ever since Karofsky had pointed her out to him. He kept his eye on her as he had a few bites of whatever it was the lunch was. Her face almost covered all the way by the Shakespeare book she was reading. She didn't look up from it at all, like she was concentrating on it entirely. It was like him when he was playing Super Mario Brothers. His mom could yell at him from hours and he wouldn't hear her until he stopped playing. He was in the zone. He couldn't imaging a book do that to someone.<p>

Finally, a few minutes before the warning bell rang, he saw the chick come out of the zone. She put the book back in her lime green back like it was breakable or something. Then, she got up and started walking. A smile came wide across Puck's face. This was it, his chance to ask her out. Time to put on his best charm and try to charm her. Show time.

He grabbed up his tray and started walking in the general direction of the trash can and the chick. She wasn't looking in his direction, but that was okay. Once he got close enough to her to see his good side, he got the ball rolling.

"Hey," Puck said.

The chick's brown eyes turn toward him, then to the tables next to them. It was like she had no idea he was talking to her. He met her gaze with one of his own and smiled even bigger. Even with the obvious hints, it still took her a while to realize he had had been talking to her and for her to say something back.

"Hey…" she said. The words 'what do you want' were never spoken, but he could tell that was exactly what she was thinking.

"Are you Meredith Hart?" If there had been any doubt she was confused that he was actually talking to her, the look on her face when he said her same confirmed she was freaked out. It was like no other kid at the school had ever remembered her name.

"Yea," she finally said back.

"Cool," He said nodding. "Look, my name's Puck. I'm in Mrs. Snow's second period. I'm having a little trouble with this whole 'Shakespeare' thing and she said you might have time to help me out."

"I'm not really a tutor." Puck sighed inwardly, but kept smiling. Dang. first setback. From the way she had said it, he wasn't the first one to ask her for help in English and probably not even the only one who had intended to try to use it to get in her pants either.

"That's cool. I just need help on this on paper. Mrs. S wanted me to get help from her best student. It's a really important grade." Puck had decided the kiss-up approach was as good a start as any. But as soon as he had said it, he knew she hadn't bought it. He was losing. Fast. Why was this so hard?

"Look, I don't think I can help you. Maybe you should ask someone else." Meredith started to walk away from him. Him. Puckzilla. What was it with today? He jumped in front of her before she got too far. When she had stopped, he turned on the eyes with a look that was pleading, but not pathetic. A look that tried to convince her she had misjudged him.

"Why? Because I'm a dude? Because I play football?" He paused. A look flashed in her eyes that was like saying 'yea, basically'. "People go around this school and act like they know me. I punch people and I mess stuff up sometimes. They think that's all I can do. People do the same thing to you. They see you read and get good grades. Is that all you can do?"

She looked at him like he had had just swallowed a guitar. That 'in the zone' look came across her face again like it had when she had been reading. That was more like it.

"No." Meredith answered him quietly. Now it was time for the finishing touch.

"Will you at least think about helping me? Let me know later."

Now she looked like she had just missed making the winning touchdown by less than a yard. It took her several seconds before she finally gave him an answer.

"Yea. Okay. I'll think about it."

Bull's-eye. Puck knew he was in at that moment. She wouldn't have said it, maybe she didn't know herself yet, but she wasn't going to be able to resist. All there was left to do was for her to walk away, thinking about what he said and then say yes. Meredith Hart didn't stand a chance against Puckzilla.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Sophie tilted her head to the side as she walked through the halls after school one Monday. Like all Mondays, it had been long and tedious, every class seeming more torturous than the one before it. Typical start of a high school week. She'd always been told that college would be ten times more fun, and she believed it. Part of her couldn't wait to get away from the immaturity, the judgmental nature of high school that had caused her to become the way she was, too afraid to fit in with any group. Still, in moments like these (even at the end of a Monday), Sophie could forget how horrible a day had been when she began to hear the sounds of the Glee club warming up. And it never failed, she walked toward the Glee room like she was a member who was just late.

It was a little room off to the side, no different from all the others. In fact, people had to walk by it every day, it was hard to get around McKinley without using that hallway, but it seemed to be its own little alternate universe. It was no less than a sanctuary to the Glee kids. She could tell from watching them practically run there after a bad day, congregate there in the middle of classes to confer on things that they found important. But most of all, she could tell from the way they smiled during practice, totally at home and totally free, in a way that she only experienced when she came back to the gym late at night when no one was watching.

Sophie arrived at the Glee practice room just in time for the first song. The club was rehearsing Carrie Underwood's _Crazy Dreams._ It suited them perfectly. It suited _her_ perfectly, even if she had trouble believing the "dreams come true" part sometimes...

_Hello you long shots,_

_You dark horse runners,_

_Hairbrush singers and_

_Dashboard drummers..._

_Hello you wild magnolias_

_Just waiting to bloom..._

"There's a little bit of all that inside of me and you, thank God even crazy dreams come true..." Sophie whispered the words along with them as they ran through the song for the first time. She sort of wished she could sing out with the kind of abandon that they had. Being an onlooker though, she was severely limited in her expression.

As usual, she let her eye roam around the multi-clique group. Rachel Barry, leader in every respect, ideas, talent, cockiness...she was always the happiest to be there. Or at least, she was the least shy about showing it. And when she sang, Sophie experienced such a jealousy for her voice that it couldn't even be described. Of course, she would never tell Rachel that even if she talked to people, because from what she could tell, her head was big enough already. Finn Hudson, Rachel's on-again, off-again Quarterback boyfriend. Although his talent and contentment seemed to come in spells, there was no doubting how well he and Rachel could sing together.

The Cheerios always seemed like the biggest misfits, but they danced and sang their little riffs mostly without realizing how much they enjoyed it. Santana, Brittny and Quinn. Their perfect figures were accompanied by baby-doll voices which suited their angelic background notes perfectly.

The core of the Glee club, the original little group, Mercedes, Artie and Tina. The only one missing was Kurt Hummel, who had transferred to a new school to escape the bullying he'd endured since he arrived. Sophie admired him for that. Then, there were the few random members like Mike Chang (also a football player, but not a well-known one) and Lauren Zizes.

And finally, the rest of the football boys. Puck was the womanizing receiver, whose voice was as smooth as chocolate, but only audible when he deemed it time for a solo. These times, by point of interest, were usually only when he was after a girl. Puck looked deep in thought that day, though, and it was rare that he had something on his mind...unless it was yet another someone. She'd come back to that later. Glee dynamics were pretty easy to keep up with if you had the advantage of seeing every practice and hearing the songs everyone sang. Their music was an extension of themselves, and whatever was bothering Puck would come out in a song one way or another. And finally...there was Sam Evans, recent transfer and blond surfer-chic Bieber look-alike. Every time Sophie's eye got around to him, it stayed there. Watching him sing was like seeing a bright ray of sunshine dance around or something. He literally lit up the room, and she felt like a romantic sap every time she thought like that...

It all went away though, when he noticed she was staring and started staring back. It happened every time now, and she just scurried away before he could point out the creeper in the doorway and get her in trouble or worse...get her attention. This time was no different. As soon as she could tear herself away, Sophie turned and hurried out of the school, trying to leave the melodies and harmonies behind her, at least until she returned to the gym later that night.

* * *

><p><em>Jeez, that's gotta be at least the fifth time I've seen her standing there...<em>Sam thought as Rachel finished off the last warbling note of _Crazy Dreams_ and he absentmindedly riffed a harmony. Every time he caught that girl there, he started to lean over and ask whoever was sitting next to him if they knew who she was, but she always disappeared before he could ask the question. And he didn't need everybody thinking he was seeing the Phantom of McKinley High or something. No one else ever seemed to notice her. Then again, Rachel sang with her eyes closed a lot and Finn was always looking at Rachel, and Quinn took turns between looking at Finn and Puck and...well, the circle of life.

The only explanation he could come up with was that she was one of the tons of people he was sure littered this school that wanted to join Glee club but didn't know how to ask, or didn't think she could sing. At the very least, she was someone who enjoyed music, and he couldn't hold that against anybody. He'd thought about chasing after her ever since the first time he'd noticed her watching, but he couldn't really run out of rehearsal and she was long gone by the time it was over.

Well, maybe it wouldn't be too bad an idea to just run out of rehearsal. Mr. Schue wouldn't mind if it was for the sake of getting another member. After all, Glee members seemed to drop like flies every time regionals or sectionals approached, because that was their luck, and it never hurt to have an extra.

Yeah, that was a good enough reason to run out.

And that was how Sam Evans decided that the next time he saw the Phantom of McKinley High standing on the outside looking in, _he _would be the one to go and pull her through the door.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Tuesday. Not quite as horrible as Monday, a far cry from the elation of Friday. It could be worse. Sophie got through the day the same way as she usually did, watching all the gossip-worthy events but not becoming a part of them. This was the one of the worst things about the way she was at school, it could get so boring, just observing. Still, her heart gave a happy little skip when 3:15 rolled around, and she caught a glimpse of Mercedes and Kurt heading toward Glee practice. She packed her things extra slowly, then took an unrealistically long time putting in her locker combo and dropping off the books she didn't need. She couldn't risk running into one of the Glee members on their way to practice. At last, she heard (as usual) the warm-up notes and wondered the halls in their direction, enjoying the way they grew louder as she approached and the myriad of voices separated into individual styles and tone. Rhythm, beat, it was addictive.

When she arrived at the door, she saw them rearrange into a new formation. Sam and Quinn had the leads for whatever song they were getting ready to sing. She wasn't sure what to expect, she hadn't heard this one yet. When they began, she smiled at the familiar words.

_Never knew I could feel like this,_

_Like I've never seen the sky before._

_Want to vanish inside your kiss,_

_Every day I love you more and more..._

Quinn joined in then, but she and Sam singing together wasn't so mesmerizing as Rachel and Finn, though still beautiful. Her heart twinged a bit, though she wasn't sure why. Quinn and Sam had liked each other at first and it had been very obvious, but she wasn't sure whether they still did or not. Either way, she didn't like to think about them kissing, or going out together, but she knew her feelings were unfounded. For all intents and purposes, Quinn was nicer than she seemed. And beautiful. And talented. Why shouldn't Sam like her?

_And there's no mountain too high,_

_No river too wide,_

_Sing out this song and I'll be there by your side,_

_Storm clouds may gather and stars may collide..._

_But I love you,_

_Until the end of time._

Her wedding song. For someone so shy, it was sort of stupid to imagine ever marrying anyone, but she always did. And when she thought about it, this was the song. Why would she ever marry anyone unless it felt like _that? _She closed her eyes, smiling and basking in the music like it was sunlight on the beach. And that was what it felt like, it did warm her, on the inside.

Sophie opened her eyes, and there was Sam, staring at her, standing still while everyone continued the simple choreography around her and Quinn. She jumped a little bit and backed away, turning right and heading for the girls' locker room, where she always hid just in case he decided to follow. But he never had.

Until then.

"Hey! Hey, wait up a sec!" Yep, definitely his voice...

Sophie stopped, standing with her feet together, fingers gripping the straps of her bookbag like they were lifelines. Her eyes were wide, and she was glad her back was to him, so he couldn't see how much she was freaking out...

"Hey." He said, having caught up and walked around so that he could face her.

She tried to rearrange her face, hoping that it could pass for one that was remotely normal, and not like someone from an alien planet simply disguised as Sophie Brice. Thinking about all of this, she forgot to say "Hey" back.

Sam cleared his throat awkwardly, obviously still expecting the return greeting, but she just couldn't do it. His shoulders shifted and he transferred weight from foot to foot, obviously unsure of what to do. Hadn't he had any plan after running out of the classroom after her?

* * *

><p>Hadn't he had any plan after running out of the classroom after her? He couldn't remember. It was honestly hard because seeing her close-up was just too weird. You thought you knew what a person looked like, seeing them from a distance, but until you were right there in front of them, it was impossible to notice the little details...like the way she had a small button nose that turned up a little at the end, and the way her eyes were completely round, like honest circles. And her hair wasn't just brown, it had hidden streaks of some kind of red that at least looked natural, whether or not it was. And there was a slight wave to her hair, and it was way longer than it looked when she stood in the doorway.<p>

"So..." He said, when he decided that she was not going to say "hey" back. She was going to be harder to crack than he'd thought. Some people were just shy. Not everybody could be like him. Totally fearless. Well, mostly. "I noticed you watching Glee practice today."

She just stared at him with those round eyes.

"Well...actually, I notice you watching almost every day."

Still staring.

He'd obviously made a horrible start. He shouldn't have just jumped right into the part about noticing her being slightly creep in the doorway all the time. He held out his hand. "I'm Sam Evans. Pretty sure we don't have any classes together or anything, so that's how we haven't met." He smiled crookedly, trying to lighten the mood. He'd never been with someone so quiet before.

Tentatively, she reached out and shook his hand, though she didn't touch him for long. "Sophie Brice."

"Nice to meet you, Sophie." He took his hand back, grabbing his thumb in his fist and twisting it around, like he was nervous or something. What? He never got nervous.

"Okay, so I was-"

"Sorry, but I have to-"

They'd spoken at the same time. Sophie's eyes widened, and she took a step back. Like he was going to take her down or something for speaking over top of him. "You first." She said quickly.

"...okay. I was just wondering if you maybe wanted to join Glee club. You're always there, just watching us, and I thought you might be just waiting for an invitation." He smiled again. This had been the plan he almost forgot.

"I can't. I can't join Glee club." She said it without the slightest hint that she was sorry about it, or that she regretted it, and turned and walked away.

Sam was in shock for a second, but he recovered in time to jog and catch up with her again. "Wait, what? You stand outside and stare at us every day and you're telling me you don't wanna join?" He was walking backwards, because Sophie wasn't stopping, just marching toward the girl's locker room, looking at the floor.

"I just like hearing the music," she said softly to the tiles.

"Well, if you like music, then there's no reason to stay out!" Sam said, holding out his hands and almost tripping over an uneven tile as he continued going backward. "Come on, we can always use an extra singer, and with Regionals coming up, it can't hurt. It's fun, Sophie."

She stopped walking, like his words had shocked her, and he rocked to a stop too, wishing that she'd look up at him. Her eyes were the kind of eyes that told the whole story, everything she was thinking. "Well, what do you say?" He asked.

"I don't sing."

His eyes widened for a brief, second. Of all the scenarios he'd played out in his head, all the reasons he'd imagined for her to be standing there watching, but never joining, he'd never thought of that. "Oh..." Recover, recover! "Come on, Soph, everybody can sing." Lauren Zizes was the perfect example. Of all the things she had, an amazing voice wasn't one of them, but Glee was about finding the joy of music and being a part of something, and she enjoyed that, and everyone let her sing. It was just another tone to add to the mix that made them so unique.

"Soph?" She asked, and she did look up at him then.

"Sorry, it just came out." He shrugged his shoulders. "I like nicknames."

She stared at him, like she was judging him, almost like she was trying to figure out if he was legit, if he meant what he was saying. Then, she looked away, and started walking again. "No, I...I can't sing, it's not for me."

Sam put his hands on her shoulders, gently, applying just enough pressure to stop her walking away again. She tensed, and he could tell she didn't like him touching her. "Sorry, but I don't feel like walking backwards or chasing you again, and I _really_ want you to think about this." A minute passed and she didn't answer, just stood there, shoulders tight and hard beneath his fingers, trying to curl up into a small enough ball that she could disappear.

Ah! A stroke of brilliance.

"How about this?" He offered, taking his hands off her shoulders and seeing her visibly relax again, then tilt her chin up to meet his eyes. "I..." He gestured to himself. "...will give you singing lessons. Until you're comfortable enough to ask Mr. Schue for an audition."

"But-"

"No but's. I insist. I'm a generous guy, and I like to see new Glee members."

"Sam, I-"

"Come on, I said no but's. Meet me in the gym tonight. 6:00? If you're really uncomfortable...we can just talk." He was surprised at himself for saying it, but the idea of talking to her seemed almost as fun as teaching her to sing.

Her mouth snapped closed. No arguments, and she looked deeply confused. Hadn't anyone asked to spend time with her before? She was pretty enough, nice, quiet...shy.

"I'll take that as a yes." Sam gave her a crooked smile and moved around her, jogging back toward the Glee room. When he got to the door, he turned and looked at her one last time. She'd turned around, staring at him, standing in the same spot he'd left her. "Hey!" He called back.

"Hey." She answered tentatively.

"I'll bet you're better than you think." He smiled one last time, and re-entered the Glee room. At least he would get to tell Mr. Schue that he'd gotten a prospective member out of his sudden exit...

* * *

><p>Sophie stood in that spot for a good long while. How was she supposed to tell him that it wasn't the singing that attracted her to Glee club? It was the rhythm, the beat...singing just wasn't her thing.<p>

As she finally turned and headed for the parking lot, she realized that maybe this was a sign. Singing might not be her thing, but she did have something...and maybe it was time to share that with someone else.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Sam pulled up to McKinley in his parents' car. He'd been lucky to even make it out the door with the keys. His Dad was a little more than sensitive about the only car the family had, and Sam "hadn't had his license long enough to be considered completely responsible." But after he'd sworn to his Dad at least ten times that it was for a school-related reason, something for the Glee club, he'd let him take it. It would have gone over a lot easier if it had been for an extra football practice, but unfortunately, Sam hadn't had the foresight to tell that white lie. Oh well, it probably would have come back to bite him anyway.

He pulled up the hood of his purple hoodie to block the cold, biting wind as he crossed the parking lot toward the front entrance. He also shoved his hands deep into his pockets. On a whim, he looked around the lot, to see if he saw another car there. There were none. Was Sophie going to stand him up? He hadn't been there long, but he was pretty sure that there were no other student parking lots around the school. Hoping that he was just miraculously blind or wrong about the lots, he continued in. One good thing about living in a small town in Ohio, the school was always open after hours. You could get in until midnight (when the janitors finished up), prop open the doors, and then leave whenever you wanted. Only the classrooms and offices were always locked. It was nice to know that when he felt like singing something out, he could go to the auditorium and belt it, no fear.

After getting inside and feeling his fingers start to tingle at the welcome heat, Sam lowered his hood and headed down the hall. As he got closer, he heard the low bass beats of a song coming from the direction of the gym. So maybe she hadn't stood him up...better, even, she was starting without him, warming up. Sam smiled, even though no one was there to see. He was actually feeling a little something in his chest that wasn't familiar, nervousness, sort of like when he'd run after her to ask her why she stared at them every day. It was like not knowing what to do or what to say. Still, he was happy to know that she was in there, waiting for him, and he was suddenly excited to see her eyes again. Weird.

Sam turned the last corner and stopped at the gym doors. The music was loud and full now, echoing against the walls and bleachers. "Bleeding Love." Leona Lewis. A karaoke machine was the source of the sound, sitting on a chair to the right side of the gym, and Sophie was in there too.

Dancing.

Her hair was flowing freely across her back and shoulders, flying up in a sheet when she spun around on her toe, perfect balance, not even a waver. When she stopped, her hands rose above her head, twisting expressively, like they were singing the song themselves. She bent her knees, crouching to the floor, curling up as though experiencing the pain the song was all about, clutching at some giant invisible hole in her chest. Then, she straightened again, legs spreading on the drumbeat, hips moving as her body conformed itself to the beat again, feet slipping into a natural routine. She would stop moving, but the rhythm went on through her body, like her heartbeat was matching the pulse of the music.

_I don't care what they say,_

_I'm in love with you._

_They try to pull me away_

_But they don't know the truth._

_My heart's crippled by the vein_

_That I keep on closing,_

_Oh, you cut me open._

On each drumbeat, she held her hand over her chest, pulling out like she had a string there. It was as though her heart would be pulled out at any moment. When the last chord sounded, she stood there, hair over one eye, looking at him, like she'd known he was there the whole time, breathing heavily.

"...wow."

And there was no other word he could honestly remember how to say.

* * *

><p>Sophie's heart was beating heavily, pounding blood through her veins, but it wasn't just from the dance. She had sensed eyes on her for the entire second half of the song, and she'd had to talk herself into continuing with great difficulty, as she'd planned. She'd known he'd show up eventually (right on time, actually), and she wanted someone to know. It was time...at least, that was what she told herself. If he laughed at her though, she was pretty sure no one else would ever find out that she did this in her free time...<p>

"...wow?" She said softly, still trying to calm down and pulling her long curls out of her face. "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"Ummm...it's an amazing thing." He answered in a low voice, and he was staring at her so intensely she felt like she was being examined. Her insides. "Did you...did you make that whole thing up?"

"Yeah." Sophie answered with a small smile, twiddling her thumbs behind her back. "I...spend a lot of my time here." She walked over to the karaoke machine to turn it off before the next song on her mix CD came on. It would probably be something embarrassing, like one of her Hanson songs...

"Does anyone else know you can dance?" He was still standing in the door, like he was frozen there.

"My parents. They paid for the lessons when I was little, but they haven't seen me do it in a long time." She sat down on the bleachers, still trying to decide if he was being honest or nice. "But...now you know why I said I don't want to sing." She smiled innocently, though she couldn't bring herself to meet his eyes.

"Yeah, because you totally rock at something else. I've...I've _never_ seen anybody move like that. Except maybe Mike and Britney. On a really good day."

Sophie's cheeks burned. She'd seen Mike and Britney dance. "Don't say that, I've seen them dance and they're _really_ good."

"Well, they're not the only ones."

She didn't say anything to that.

"Why don't you tell someone how good you are?" He asked, sounding amazed.

Sophie forced a laugh. "Because I'm fine just doing it in here where no one can burst my bubble, if you know what I mean."

"But _why?_ If I could do something like that, I'd be bragging to everybody."

"You _can_ do something like this. You can _sing _like this."

"I don't know about that."

"Come on, I've heard you. Don't play modest."

"I'll stop when you stop." He smirked from the doorway, and she caught it out of the corner of her eye. She looked in the other direction though, then back down at the floor. She was so used to playing shy, it came naturally. This was probably the largest number of words she'd spoken in a five-minute span since she came to high school.

"Look, all I'm trying to say is...I'm fine with just keeping this in the gym, okay?"

He seemed to struggle for a few seconds to find words. "What are you afraid of? Judgement? People telling you you aren't that good? It won't happen..."

"It's not that, it's..."

He raised his eyebrows at her as she stammered embarrassingly. "I just...I don't want people to see, okay?" She stood up, frustrated, feeling the need to move around.

"You obviously wanted _me_ to see." He sounded a little smug when he said that.

"Only so you'd believe me when I say I can't sing."

"And what, just forget about it and leave you alone?"

"Yes! No! I mean..."

He stepped forward, and his foot caught the leg of the chair that she'd been using to prop the door open. "Sam!" Sophie squealed, running toward him.

In that split second, his eyes widened in shock and he held up his hands, unaware of what he'd done wrong. Sophie flew past him, grabbing for the door handle, and missing it by centimeters. It fell shut with a loud clack. She stared at it, mouth and eyes both wide open, in perfect O's. Spinning around on her foot to face him, she exclaimed, "That's great!"

"What?"

"This door locks when it shuts! Did you think the chair was just there for looks!"

He looked like he wanted to yell back, but slowly, his mouth started to twist up, like he was getting ready to smile, but trying not to.

"...something funny?" Sophie asked, crossing her arms.

"You."

She wasn't amused, and she tried to show that.

"It's just that..." he laughed, "You barely talk in school and here you are yelling at me."

"...yeah, well..."

He was right.

* * *

><p>Sam smiled at her. Watching her try to find words -trying to go back to pretending she was shy and unsure of who she was or what she was doing- seemed like he was seeing behind a curtain. She wasn't the way she pretended to be at all. He was starting to think he'd never seen a more bogus act in his life.<p>

"How long until a janitor comes by?" She'd obviously been here a lot of nights, she had to have some idea of when there would be one around.

After a moment's thought, she answered, "They usually get to this end of the school by about eleven, I guess."

"Good." He turned and went to the bleachers, climbing to the top row, sitting down and leaning back on the wall, stretching his legs out in front of him. He looked down at her, eyebrows raised.

She stood there for almost a straight minute, determined to let him sit up there by himself, but he smiled again when she sighed and climbed the bleachers to sit with him (still a good two feet away though).

"So." She said, still playing the annoyed victim.

"So. What do you say you and I have an actual conversation, Soph?"

She glared at him, but he had more than a slight suspicion she enjoyed the nickname more than she let on.

"There's no use playing shy anymore. You've yelled at me now." He smiled. It was true.

And then she started talking.

* * *

><p>Sophie told Sam everything. Well, everything she could think of to say. He asked questions like he was actually interested in her life, in her. Or maybe he could just tell that she was dying to talk...to exist, to someone. It was like she'd been chained up inside herself, this complete, whole person just waiting to be invited to come back out, but refusing to receive any invitation. It wasn't until those few hours she spent telling him anything and everything she could think of that she realized how bitter she was with herself. And maybe that was where the entire desire to share her dancing with someone had begun. She'd had the last straw and hadn't even known it. An entire disguise seemed to disappear or fly away right there in that gym, and Sam met the real Sophie Brice. Hell, Sophie Brice might even have met the real Sophie Brice. At least for the first time in a while.<p>

It felt like she didn't even stop to take a breath until 9:30, and when she did, Sam jumped in suddenly.

"What would you say if I told you that McKinley is going to start a Dance Team in the next few weeks?" His eyes searched hers.

She looked down at her hands folded in her lap, a lot like his were, and then noticed their proximity. In the time she'd been talking, he'd been slowly moving closer to her and she hadn't even noticed. "I'd say..." she hesitated, "that...I don't think I'm ready for that." She bit her lip, hair falling into her eyes again.

"Well, I think you are."

"Yeah, but you're not me!" She exclaimed.

"Listen, Soph-" He put his hand on top of hers and she tensed up, back straightening like a taught rope, an electric charge igniting her skin and causing chill bumps to rise. She actually shivered a bit, and breathed in sharply.

He either _acted_ like he didn't notice or honestly didn't.

"I _saw_ you, okay? And I know you don't even really know me, but I wouldn't lie about it. And _I_ think...you should go for it."

Taking her eyes off of his hand on top of hers, Sophie turned her head slightly and looked at him with narrowed eyes, scrutinizing that face, honest as a child's and as flawless as a Greek sculpture. He was serious. She could tell.

"I..."

The gym door made a loud noise as the janitor unlocked it from the outside. "Hey, kids!"

They'd unluckily managed to attract the attention of the meanest janitor in the school.

"Are you even supposed to be in here?"

Sophie took her hand out from under Sam's and bounded down the bleacher levels. She grabbed her jacket and the small karaoke machine, moving to the door and past the janitor with a barely-audible "Sorry..."

She heard Sam's footsteps following her and when she reached the end of the corridor, she turned toward the side door that led to her secret parking spot by the baseball field.

A hand landed on her shoulder, pulling her up short, and lips that were very close to her ear whispered, "Think about it, okay?"

Reluctantly, and in the throes of another set of shivers, she gave a single nod, and then jogged to the door, out, and all the way to her car.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Try as she might, Meredith couldn't forget what had happened in the cafeteria, not even the next day when she was pretty sure the shock should have warn off for any normal human being. Yet, she still felt like she was trapped in a dream… or like an Inception-type thing. But She had yet to decide if the dream was a good one or a nightmare. 'What else could it have possibly been?' she asked herself. Boys, especially ones like Noah Puckerman didn't just walk up and spill their souls to girls like her (or acknowledge their existence at all for that matter), not in reality anyway.

_'So why had he?'_ That was the million dollar question that kept running through her mind, even despite her efforts to forget about it. The most likely possibility, the one that won out for the biggest part of the next twenty-four hours was that Puckerman didn't give Shakespeare as much of a though as she gave Math most of the time. He had asked her for help in hopes of somehow conning her into writing his analysis for him so he would be able to pass English. Then, he could go on his merry little, care-free, football playing way, forever cheating the system and making it unfair for those few like her who actually cared about their grades.

Of course, there were numerous flaws in his plan if that was what he was trying to do. For one, Mrs. Snow wasn't stupid. She knew how both of them were from having them in class. She knew Meredith's writing style better than she did herself. Even in a parallel universe where she would agree to write his paper, there would no hiding who wrote it from her. Pukerman had to know he would get caught for sure. Flaw number two, Meredith wasn't stupid. She would never agree to it. What's more, she was fully aware of his reputation with girls. Not only was she not going to write his paper, she wasn't going to sleep with him either. Puckerman also had to know there were easier girls to get, ones that required no wooing at all from him.

'Was that what it was then? A challenge?' Meredith wondered as the bell rang ending her Spanish class and signaling it was time for lunch. 'Was this like a 'Taming of the Shrew' thing minus the younger sister storyline?' She rolled her eyes at the thought while she walked to the cafeteria. Surly the plan was more simple than all of that. Puckerman didn't have the patience or the womanizing skill to actually, for lack of a better word, court.

By the time she got to the cafeteria and to the back of the never-ending lunch line, it was becoming more and more clear to Meredith that the mind of Noah Puckerman was either too simplistic or too dirty for her to understand by herself. The only way she was ever going to find out what he was up to asking her to tutor him was to agree to it. It would take away an hour or two from a few of her weekdays and it was likely not going to end well, but she was decided to go along with it anyway. She had figured out his most likely intention. She wasn't about to help anyone cheat and she sure knew better than to let him get too close. What was the worst that could happen to her? Maybe if she played her cards right, he might even actually learn something.

However, Meredith was determined to stay in control of the situation. She was going to call the shots and she wanted him to know it right off the bat. After all, it was him that asked her for help. Her eyes looked over toward the jock table as she grabbed her tray. She could see Puckerman was sitting there with his teammates, blissfully unaware that there was anything else going on in the world. This was a good a time as any to start things off. She began to make her way to the table, contemplating what to say when she got there.

* * *

><p>Puck sat at his usual spot at the table next to Karofsky and the rest of the football guys. They were talking about strategies for Friday night's game, but he was only half concentrating on what they were saying. He had seen Meredith Hart walk in a little while after him. He had caught a few glimpses of her while she was in the lunch line and he was sure she hadn't noticed. Judging by the look she had on her face, she was either still thinking about what he had said at lunch the day before or possibly wondering what book to read next, with a chick like her it was hard to tell. He was pretty sure it was about him though.<p>

When she picked up her tray and stated walking in his direction, he knew she had been thinking about him. A smile became fixed on his face as she walked toward him. _'This is it'_ he thought to himself. Touchdown. He looked up at her as she got closer letting her see his smile. This was great. She was going to say yes, right in front of Karofsky so he could see. He was so winning this bet. No one would ever doubt Puckzilla again.

"Hey, Meredith," he said, the grin still growing on his face.

"Hey, Puck," Meredith replied.

"How's it going?" Puck asked nonchalantly.

"Good. Really good. I've been thinking about you." He could tell now she was trying to flirt. He could also tell she had probably never done it before, but he didn't care. He just wanted to Karofsky to listen and know he was already loosing.

"So… we're on for later on this week?"

"Oh, yea. Friday night at my place," she said. "I can't wait."

"Me either," he replied, almost entirely matching her enthusiasm.

"I'm going to pick one of Shakespeare's most romantic plays for us to… study." She held out the last word like she meant it dirty. Sweet. Even if she didn't mean it that way, it was gaining him points.

"Sounds good" Puck smiled and winked at her.

"See you then." Meredith said, turning slowly to walk away.

"See you then."

It wasn't until after Meredith had gone that he noticed the entire team was staring at him like he had just squirt chocolate milk out of his nose. Karofsky bust out laughing when he looked in his direction.

"That was the gayest thing I've ever heard, Puckerman," he said. "You're going to her house to read?"

"First you sing and now you read Shakespeare?" Another one of the guys added. "What's next, you going to come to school in a dress next week Romeo? Or are you a Juliet now?"

"Hey, shut up, Karofsky! All of you!" Puck snapped. "Its all part of the plan. Remember the bet? She'll be eating out of my hand on Friday"

"Yea, I remember," Karofsky mocked. "I just hope you're still interested in girls after this chick turns you into one."

There was more laughter from the jock table. Puck looked over to Meredith, who was in her usual seat by herself in the zone with her book by that point. Good. She hadn't heard the laughs at him and her, or him mention the bet. For now, they could laugh it up all they wanted. They could say and do whatever, it didn't change the fact he had a date on Friday night that was not only going to shut them up, but help him pass English and stay on the football team all at once.


End file.
